Articles, Images, and Programme for Music Hall at The Palace Pier Theatre, Brighton

The Story of the Palace Pier Theatre
by W. Everitt, General Manager, The Palace Pier.

From 'Music Hall at the Palace' Programme.

The first pile of the Palace
Pier was driven on the 7th November, 1891,
by the then Mayoress of Brighton - Mrs.
S. H. Soper and the work progressed until the skeleton of the steelwork
was completed to a point short of the pierhead. It
was then that the promoters fell into difficulties and for several years
the structure was left derelict.

On
Saturday the 20th May, 1899 the pier was opened to the public. In the same year the first pile was
driven for the pierhead and this extension was completed together with
the theatre. The building was then known
as the Pavilion, a very different layout from its present form with
seating on the ground floor only and a promenade at the back, while
the decorations were in red and gold.

Left - An early image of the Palace Pier, Brighton.

On Wednesday the 3rd April, 1901 the Sacred Harmonic Society (now the Brighton Harmonic Society) with
Mr. George Freeman conducting the Pavilion Orchestra gave the first
performance before an invited audience and tea was served afterwards
to 1,500 guests.

In 1911 the Theatre was entirely remodelled. The circle and Boxes were added and the stage
enlarged making it at that time comparable with the average provincial
theatre. With these improvements and an increased seating capacity to
1,300, it was possible to present first class touring
companies.

Right - Brighton's Original Palace Pier Theatre.

These were the days when Brighton had a "Winter Season" from
October to March when to suit the demands of the more leisured winter
visitor performances were given every afternoon and evening only on
Wednesday and Saturday throughout the winter months.

As
time went on and public taste changed, short seasons of Repertory were
introduced and from 1933 until the outbreak of war, Jimmy Hunter's famous
resident Summer Shows provided ideal light entertainment for holiday-makers
and residents alike for a 10 or 12 week season. Several well known entertainment
personalities were highlights of Jimmy Hunter's shows, notable Tormny
Trinder, misses Betty Driver and Freddie Bamburger.

Left
- Programme for 'Music Hall at The palace.' The Programme that the articles
and Programme images on this page come from.

The Palace Pier Theatre was also noted
for its excellent family pantomime which
ran each year for a month. Until the closing of the theatre for the
war period, these had been presented for 21 consecutive years.

Sunday Celebrity Concerts were also a feature of the summer attractions
and many leading lights of the Variety and Musical world appeared from time to time at these Concerts. In the
early day of the Theatre's history, two prime favourites with were Margaret
Cooper in her "Songs at the Piano" and Harry Frogson. Famous
Bands such as the Southern Syncopated, Debroy Somers and Jack Hylton
were always greeted with "House Full" boards.

Except
for seasonal closing the theatre has been open every year apart from
the war period. At the time of Dunkirk - Thursday evening, 23rd May,
1940 without any previous warning, the Pier was requisitioned and the
theatre closed. When the official order was given, the audience was
already assembling for the evening performance of "The First Mrs.
Fraser". The admission money had to be returned and the audience
filed out of the last performance to be given until after the war.

The Army took possession and a centre portion was immediately blown
up. German divebombers made several attempts to destroy the pier but
only near misses were registered.

Right - Programme detail from 'Music Hall at The Palace Pier Theatre.

Early in 1946 the pier was handed back and after strenuous work it
was reopened to the public on the 6th June, 1946.

The Theatre re-opened on 15th July, 1946 for the summer season and
the opening attraction was a visit of Phyllis Neilson-Terry in a new
play "The Widow of Forty".

Repertory season continued until 1964 and in the following year commencing
with Jack Tripp in "Take a Trip", the present run of successful
Summer Shows has continued with such Star names as Tommy Trinder, Ronnie
Corbett, Dick Emery, Joe Brown, Ted Rogers and the Kaye Sisters. The
1972 show was the controversial "Pyjama Tops".

In his book Seaside Architecture, Kenneth Lindley considers the Palace
Pier "one of the finest architectural expressions of the holiday
spirit ever produced. It is difficult to believe that this complex of
buildings has survived so many decades of battering by the often tempestuous
seas of the English Channel".

The Pier is privately owned.

From Dan Leno to Danny La Rue - The Music Hall Story

An open letter to Impresario Arthur
Lane from George Wood, O.B.E. known as WEE GEORGIE WOOD - The Last of the Truly Great International
Music Hall Stars

Dear Arthur, this
is a Tribute to the Audrey Lupton / Arthur Lane Music
Hall presentations - the only shows I am able to accept as Authentic
Nostalgia, and I ought to know, having lived through seventy years as
an active performer.

The reason for sending this letter "From Dan
Leno, to Danny La Rue" will be understood by you, but perhaps few
others outside the Profession.

Both names are in the records of THE GRAND ORDER OF WATER RATS, with
pretty well all the famous who have made Golden Years for the Music
Hall since Dan Leno was King Rat in 1891.

Right - Barbara Sumner
and Terry Doogan from 'Music Hall at The Palace Pier Theatre.

The Order was founded in 1889 under the name of the NOBLE ORDER OF THE STAR. At the first meeting
a Music Hall "Sketch Acto?' named WAL PINK protested that the word
"STAR" seerned too snobbish "Let us reverse the word
STAR, we should call ourselves the lowest."

The first money collected by the ORDER was earmarked for what was to
be the

BRINSWORTH HOUSE in Twickenham, Home of the Variety
Artistes Benevolent Fund, and Institution, for which the Royal
Variety Shows are given each year. We, in the Water Rats, have,
as you are aware, Arthur, close ties with the South Coast - our 1973
King, George Elrick, lives in Eastbourne,
others in vour midst include Cliff Dee, an artist of note, who retired
"to be in reach of Beachy Head" - Norman Meadows, General
Manager of the Eastbourne Pier and of course, Sandy Powell.

Right - Nat Jackley and Leslie Sarony
from 'Music Hall at The Palace Pier Theatre.

You will recall we appeared to pay tribute to Sandy
on his Televised "This is your Life". The King Rat then
was Frankie Vaughan. At that time he was the youngest, and I was the
Elder Statesman of this unique Fellowship. It is a matter of pride
that Bob Pearson was our 1971 PRINCE OF THE ORDER, and that he, with
Brother Alf, are loyal and admired members -- you see we are three
"Geordies", and after all, it was in our native North East
that the G.OW.R. started.

Now, let me get to the original purpose I had in mind
when I set out to write this letter.

Your Music Hall, Arthur, was born
of your love for what Walter Sickert painted as the Traditional Wav
of British Life. You have, in the past five years, presented at the Royal Hippodrome, Eastbourne, Elsie
and Doris Waters, Rawicz and Landauer. Cavan O'Connor and Margery Manners.
Together with Nat Jackley (Shown Right), all stars of the British
Music Hall that is no more.

All the Professionals, thanks to your encouragement, proved the edict
that the late Florenz Zeefeld had hanging over his office door - "There
is no short cut to experience".

Ever gratefully, Your "Wee" Friend,

I KNEW BRIGHTON WHEN by DON ROSS

Elder Statesman of the Variety Profession
and
President of The British Music Hall Society

Once
upon a time there was a quality called Elegance. There is not much of
it around now-a-days and some of the younger people may sneer at the
mention of it while older people have been heard to sigh for it. Brighton had that quality an elegance and a glamour that shone through the town
even on a dull day. A touch of spiciness too - for if a man were to
tell his friends he was off "for a week-end at Brighton" they
would lift their eyebrows and say "Oh yes?"

It was always a great place for the music
hall pros of the period who added their share to this elegance and
glamour. Promenading along the front on a bright Sunday morning the
toilettes of the music hall ladies bid fair to outshine those of the
other promenaders. To drive down to Brighton to spend the day and have
a good breath of Doctor Brighton's tonic air plus all the fun of meeting
one's friends always was considered a good idea. In those days, too,
a week at Brighton
Hippodrome, or in it's time at the Alhambra,
was looked upon as one of those special and keenly anticipated engagements.

I remember a notice that hung in every dressing room at the Hippodrome
worded to the effect that 'Ladies are requested not to pack their best
dresses until they have completed their second house performance on
Saturday night as this theatre on a Saturday night contains the best
dressed audience to be found anywhere in the world'. Apparently it had
been noticed that some of the women artistes had packed
as soon as they had done their first show on Saturday night in order
to get back to London as quickly as possible after they had done their
second show and so had taken the liberty of working the second house
in virtually the clothes in which they were going to travel in. It is
true that the audience, especially at the second house in the stalls,
were almost entirely in evening dress, the men suave in their 'tails',
the ladies elegant, bejewelled and soignee.

There were some good digs in Brighton, too. I particularly recall
the double bow-fronted house (now a restaurant) almost facing the Hippodrome where the tops of the bill usually stayed.

With many professionals is was a great thing during a week off to come
down to Briphton for a few days. The Ship Hotel was a great venue for music hall people as also was the
Royal Albion Hotel, at that time under the direction of the famous Harry
Preston.

When faced with thoughts of retirement one third of the professionals
thought it would be a good idea 'to get a nice little pub somewhere',
quite a lot of others refused to face the thought of retirement and
insisted they would 'go on as long as we are wanted'. Many of the remainder
plumped for a 'nice little place down at Brighton' and with all their
memories of what to them were the Great Days, clinging together like
a rather exclusive club, they are still here.

THE STORY OF THE
MUSIC HALL by ARTHUR LANE

The
British Music Hall began in the early part of the nineteenth century
in the underground night haunts of London described by Thackeray as
"Caves of Harmony".

After the "Caves of Harmony- the Music
Hall expressed itself in the free and easy entertainments of the
tavern supper rooms. At the celebrated 'Evans
Supper Rooms' the audiences sat from 10 p.m. until 2 in the morning
joining in the choruses of sea songs and rollicking old English ditties
... a truly British beginning.

Then came the first Oxford Music
Hall still on tavern-room lines with waiters flitting to and fro
among the tables serving refreshments.

Right -
Marie Lloyd and Albert Whelan from 'Music Hall at The Palace Pier Theatre.

This was the heyday of the Music Hall's original great personalities
- Charles Coburn, Dan Leno, Marie Lloyd, Albert Chevalier, Eugene Stratton,
Little Tich.

The Music Hall's next development was the modern "Palace
of Variety" and my own first memories of the modern music hall
were the stars of what I consider the "Golden Years of Music Hall".

I
remember well the beginning of this golden age, Harry Lauder, George
Robey, Ada Reeve, Wee Georgie Wood, Harry Welden, Malcolm Scott, Billy
Merson, Marie Lloyd, Little Tich - all of whom I saw about the end of
World War One. Then, in the Twenties, came the Houston Sisters, Mona
Vivian, Gracie Fields, Clarice Mayne, Clapham and Dwyer, Harry
Tate.

Left
- G.H. Elliot and Gracie Fields from 'Music Hall at The Palace Pier
Theatre.

Came
the Thirties and Forties which, to my mind, produced a great crop of
stars - Sandy Powell, The Western Brothers, Elsie and Doris Waters,
Leslie Sarony, Gillie Potter, Rawiez and Landauer, Nat Jackley, Flannagan
and Allen, Nervo and Knox and, through five decades, the incomparable
Hetty King. It is my proud privilege to have employed all the living
stars of the "Golden Years" in our five seasons of THE GOLDEN
YEARS OF MUSIC HALL at the Royal Hippodrome,
Eastbourne and while these few great ones are still hale and hearty
it would be a great mistake to conclude that music hall and variety are dead.

Working at the
Palace Pier Theatre by Alan Chudley

The Palace Pier Theatre at Brighton was not an easy date to play
from the stage crews point of view, the lorries could not enter the
pier and the scenery had to be lugged the length of the pier on what was called a bomb trailer,
and the dock doors at the theatre left much to be desired. One delightful
thing about this theatre is that for many years after the last war the
theatre still had it's original 1902 "Digby" lighting board; in this day and age of computerised
lighting control it seems strange that in the days of Water Dimmers
( the Garrick Theatre London used
these until 1950 ) the resident electrician did his daily maintenance
with a watering can.

During the run of Music Hall at the Palace in 1973, (See above)
Arthur Lane also had The Golden Years of Music Hall at the Eastbourne
Hippodrome, which opened before the Brighton show, very sadly after
the first night at Eastbourne several of the dancing girls in the show
went out to a party and were killed in a road accident on the way home,
so the girls from Brighton were sent to Eastbourne and new girls had
to be recruited for the Brighton show.

The late Arthur Lane was one of life's great characters and those who
knew him could dine out for a month on stories about him to which they
were an eye witness. In my own case, I went to the Palace Pier Theatre
during rehearsals of Music Hall at the Palace-such as they were- to
see a friend who was employed by Arthur Lane. Arthur was in the bar
over the theatre entrance with the late Sandy Powell, I asked for his
carpenter by name; "How dare you dear boy, come in this temple
of thespian art and refer to Terence as my carpenter, I have promoted
him to Production manager; tell him that he is my carpenter and it will
cost this firm another tenner a week" He then ordered a double
Brandy all round at my expense. Arthur was a much loved character and
I do not expect to see his equal in my lifetime.